Electronic viewing systems are being integrated into increasingly larger numbers of applications. Such applications include displays for providing additional situational awareness to operators of moving vehicles. The displays often include a panel for displaying an image of an area for surveillance by a sensor such as a camera, transducer, laser, and the like, which is affixed to a moving vehicle for monitoring blind spots (e.g., that are “blind” with respect to the operator). The sensor generates an imaging signal (e.g., in response to electromagnetic or sound waves impinging the sensor) that contains (e.g., ranging or visual) information of the surveilled area. The imaging signal is used to generate a (e.g., two- or “three-” dimensional) image for display on the panel such that the display user (e.g., vehicle operator) has increased situational awareness, which normally results in an increased level of safety of operation of the vehicle. However, as such viewing systems are increasingly relied upon, a failure of such a system can instead result in decreased safety in the operation of a vehicle when the failed system is relied upon to operate the vehicle.